Scottish Executive

Asylum Seekers

Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources are being allocated to assist local authority education departments to prepare suitable curriculum material to raise awareness of the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers and to tackle any increase in racist incidents perpetrated by young people.

Nicol Stephen: A Staff Development for Effective Teaching (SDET) project to provide Anti-Racism Support Materials and Seminars is currently in progress. In addition, Learning and Teaching Scotland are developing a national statement on Education for Citizenship.

  There are no plans to allocate specific resources to education authorities to prepare curriculum material on the matters you raise. Local authorities receive general financial support for the education of all children through the annual local government finance settlement.

Autism

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome have had a Record of Needs in the last three years, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) health board area.

Nicol Stephen: Statistics are collected on the numbers of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder by age and gender in each school. The statistics are not broken down by severity or type, and it is, therefore, not possible to provide information specific to children diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Elections

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines have been issued to Scottish Ministers during the current UK General Election campaign.

Henry McLeish: Scottish Ministers must comply with their duties and responsibilities under the Scottish Ministerial Code at all times. Amongst other things, the Code indicates that ministers must not use public resources for party political purposes and must uphold the political impartiality of the civil service.

Elections

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in relation to local authorities being asked for permission by local politicians for political literature to be distributed, via teachers, to schoolchildren and what guidance it issues to local authorities on dealing with such requests.

Peter Peacock: This is a matter for local authorities and no guidance is issued by the Executive.

Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the PFI and PPP projects entered into since 1996, detailing the capital cost and level of advisory fees involved in each project.

Angus MacKay: The information requested for Scottish Executive PFI contracts entered into since 1996 is detailed in the table. An up-to-date list of all currently active projects known to the Executive showing, among other things, the estimated capital value is available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre. Information on advisory fees for non-Scottish Executive projects is a matter of commercial confidentiality between the parties to the contract.

  


Project Name 
  

Procuring Agency 
  

Financial Close 
  

Capital Value
(£ million) 
  

Advisory Fees
(£ million) 
  



M6 DBFO 
  

Development Department 
  

April 1997 
  

95 
  

3.46 
  



Kilmarnock Prison 
  

Scottish Prison Service 
  

November 1997 
  

32 
  

0.23

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the £5 million funding from Scottish Enterprise to Dumfries and Galloway announced on 10 May 2001 to assist with economic restructuring will be used to provide interest-free loans for local businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and what conditions will apply to such loans.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Scottish Enterprise announced earlier this week additional funding for a number of new initiatives to assist businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the Dumfries and Galloway area. This includes interest free loans for local businesses. Initially, some £1.6 million has been allocated to support such loans. Terms and conditions which apply to these loans are available directly from Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the funding made available to assist businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak is disbursed to those businesses immediately.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The distribution of resources to assist businesses directly is a matter for the relevant local authority and the Enterprise Networks. Guidance has been issued to all councils on the measures they can take to help businesses with their rates including immediate deferral of payments. Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway, who have been allocated substantial additional resources to assist businesses recovery, launched a number of new initiatives earlier this week which are available to business now.

Football

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to the development of football academies.

Allan Wilson: Through the Football Partnership we helped to draw up detailed proposals for the development of academies, and through  sportscotland we have put in place a funding package using lottery and RPBD (Reduction in Pools Betting Duty) monies. The academy programme is open to applications from Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League clubs and the first awards have been made to Kilmarnock and Glasgow Rangers Football Clubs.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the First Minister whether a ban will be placed on rearing genetically modified fish in sea cages in light of the Royal Society’s recommendation in its report published on 21 May 2001 and, if so, how soon such a ban would be implemented.

Henry McLeish: The rearing of genetically modified fish in marine pens would require consent under the GM Deliberate Release Regulations.

  If the regulators were not satisfied that marine pens could be deployed without posing a threat to the environment, they would reject an application which proposed their use. There has, in any case, never been an application to release GM fish in Europe.

Health

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the needs of people with attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Malcolm Chisholm: The day to day treatment of people with ADD and ADHD is a matter for health boards in conjunction with education and social work authorities. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) is currently developing a clinical guideline on Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic disorders in Children and Young People, which is due to be published in the near future. The guideline will be disseminated to a range of interests including NHS Trusts and health boards.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the good practice guidance on the administration of medication in schools will be published.

Malcolm Chisholm: Draft guidance was issued to interested parties, including education authorities, NHS boards, Trusts and voluntary organisations for comment in September 2000. It is expected that amended guidance will be available by the beginning of the new school year.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to address any concerns of parents and professionals regarding any increase in the prescribing of Ritalin to children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Susan Deacon: Next month, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) will publish evidence-based guidance for NHSScotland on the diagnosis, assessment and management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. This guidance, which will draw on best practice, will be available to clinicians through the SIGN website. Copies of the guidance will also be sent to the relevant health specialists.

Health

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the operating procedures of all NHS Trusts are reviewed to ensure that best practice is employed to reduce the number of cancelled surgical operations across Scotland.

Susan Deacon: I strongly support the efforts of the NHS to reduce the number of cancelled admissions to hospital and to spread good operational practice. The development of new performance assessment and accountability arrangements for NHSScotland, as described in Our National Health, a plan for action, a plan for change will help encourage continuous improvement in NHS performance through benchmarking, sharing of good practice and publication of performance information.

Health

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all NHS Trusts have a procedure to contact by telephone all patients awaiting surgical operations in order to reconfirm appointments.

Susan Deacon: This is a matter for individual NHS Trusts.

Homelessness

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many homeless families with children were accommodated in permanent accommodation under (a) section 31 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, (b) section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and (c) section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 in each year from 1996-97 to 2000-01.

Jackie Baillie: The table below gives the number of homeless applications from households with children which were made during the years 1996-97 to 1998-99 under section 31 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 and which resulted in the household being secured permanent accommodation.

  Information about those applications which were made in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 is not yet available.

  


Year of Application 
  

Number of applications from households with 
  children where the outcome was permanent accommodation 
  



1996-97 
  

8,700 
  



1997-98 
  

8,700 
  



1998-99 
  

8,300 
  



  Notes:

  1. Figures are estimates based on around 92% of case returns received from local authorities. Estimates are made by grossing to the reported total number of applications and rounding to the nearest 100. See the Scottish Executive publication HSG/2000/5 for more details.

  2. The figures in any one year may include more than one application from the same household, since repeat applications cannot be identified.

  Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 provides for the promotion of the welfare of children in need and the powers in section 25 relate to the provision of accommodation for young adults. Permanently accommodating homeless families with children under these sections in the years in question would be an unusual use of these powers by local authorities and we are not aware of them being so used.

Hospitals

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money will be dedicated in the current financial year to reducing the incidence of hospital-acquired infections.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is making more money available for health in Scotland this year than ever before – a total of £5.9 billion, up 7.5% on last year. I have already announced substantial further growth in this budget over the next three years: by 2003-04, the annual health budget will be £6.7 billion.

  It is for Health Boards and NHS Trusts to decide how to apply these increased resources to ensure the provision of modern, safe and effective health services for the population of their areas. This will include spending on infection control in line with guidelines provided by the Scottish Executive and to meet standards which are being developed by the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland.

Housing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses (a) have been provided with disablement adaptations in each of the last three years and (b) will receive disablement adaptations in each of the next three years, broken down by local authority area.

Jackie Baillie: The number of houses provided with aids and adaptations, including disabled, by local authority housing departments is shown in the table. The number of houses provided with aids and adaptations, including disabled, provided by local authority social work departments is not collected centrally.

  In 1999 we introduced changes to the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 requiring all new housing to be built to standards suitable for a disabled person to visit. Scottish Homes has introduced new housing design standards that contain barrier-free requirements. In addition, the Programme for Government sets a target of 20,000 new homes and improved homes for affordable renting or low cost owner occupation. These will be built to barrier free standards suitable to all.

  The 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey found that there were 254,000 dwellings with adaptations.

  It is not possible to forecast the number of houses that will be adapted in the future. This will depend on demand and priorities set by local authorities in the light of resources at their disposal and competing demands.

  Local Authority Housing Capital Expenditure on Aids and Adaptations (including Disabled)

  Number of Houses

  


Local Authority 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



HRA 
  

Non-HRA 
  

HRA 
  

Non-HRA 
  

HRA 
  

Non-HRA 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

700 
  

44 
  

700 
  

34 
  

737 
  

50 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

577 
  

40 
  

744 
  

42 
  

800 
  

15 
  



Angus 
  

- 
  

62 
  

1 
  

74 
  

1 
  

80 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

- 
  

193 
  

- 
  

272 
  

- 
  

217 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

55 
  

11 
  

100 
  

10 
  

120 
  

20 
  



Comharlie nan Eilean Siar 
  

- 
  

32 
  

- 
  

8 
  

- 
  

9 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

1,250 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dundee City 
  

199 
  

30 
  

169 
  

25 
  

175 
  

24 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

- 
  

156 
  

- 
  

73 
  

- 
  

93 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

366 
  

7 
  

402 
  

- 
  

506 
  

- 
  



East Lothian 
  

- 
  

14 
  

- 
  

9 
  

- 
  

15 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

61 
  

44 
  

61 
  

44 
  

100 
  

30 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

421 
  

218 
  

552 
  

209 
  

30 
  

200 
  



Falkirk 
  

- 
  

68 
  

1 
  

75 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Fife 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Glasgow City 
  

1,867 
  

- 
  

1,750 
  

233 
  

2,550 
  

210 
  



Highland 
  

911 
  

74 
  

812 
  

98 
  

797 
  

94 
  



Inverclyde 
  

- 
  

283 
  

- 
  

270 
  

- 
  

255 
  



Midlothian 
  

42 
  

11 
  

60 
  

10 
  

25 
  

17 
  



Moray 
  

400 
  

43 
  

83 
  

41 
  

90 
  

45 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

829 
  

93 
  

- 
  

76 
  

- 
  

70 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

2 
  

84 
  

1 
  

112 
  

5 
  

115 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

63 
  

- 
  

60 
  

- 
  

50 
  

- 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

3 
  

24 
  

- 
  

22 
  

4 
  

30 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

- 
  

45 
  

- 
  

49 
  

- 
  

51 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

55 
  

19 
  

60 
  

27 
  

70 
  

25 
  



Shetland 
  

- 
  

23 
  

- 
  

13 
  

- 
  

20 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

- 
  

129 
  

- 
  

138 
  

- 
  

150 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

- 
  

372 
  

- 
  

421 
  

- 
  

400 
  



Stirling 
  

544 
  

- 
  

503 
  

87 
  

416 
  

82 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

433 
  

25 
  

522 
  

35 
  

400 
  

35 
  



West Lothian 
  

1,031 
  

105 
  

970 
  

86 
  

1,025 
  

95 
  



Scotland 
  

9,809 
  

2,249 
  

7,551 
  

2,593 
  

7,901 
  

2,447

Housing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent in the last three years and is planned to be spent in the next three years on provision of disablement adaptations in houses.

Jackie Baillie: Local authority housing expenditure for the last three years on aids and adaptations, including disabled, is shown in table 1. In addition, Scottish Homes spent £1.885 million in 1998-99, £2.727 million in 1999-2000 and £2.352 million in 2000-01 on aids and adaptations to their own and housing association stock. Local authority social work revenue spending on aids and adaptations is shown in table 2.

  There has also been health board spending on aids and adaptations, including disabled, but this information is not collected centrally.

  It is not possible to forecast expenditure on housing adaptations for disabled people as this will depend on demand and the amounts earmarked by local authorities in the light of competing demand for resources.

  Table 1

  Local Authority Housing Capital Expenditure on Aids and Adaptations (including Disabled)

  (£ million)

  

 

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Local Authority 
  

HRA 
  

Non-HRA 
  

HRA 
  

Non-HRA 
  

HRA 
  

Non-HRA 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

0.467 
  

0.166 
  

0.299 
  

0.119 
  

0.315 
  

0.180 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

0.290 
  

0.094 
  

0.638 
  

0.014 
  

0.675 
  

0.030 
  



Angus 
  

- 
  

0.129 
  

0.036 
  

0.164 
  

0.001 
  

0.190 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

- 
  

0.274 
  

- 
  

0.369 
  

- 
  

0.300 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

0.067 
  

0.016 
  

0.177 
  

0.020 
  

0.215 
  

0.035 
  



Comharlie nan Eilean Siar 
  

0.087 
  

0.147 
  

0.123 
  

0.014 
  

0.080 
  

0.020 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0.305 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dundee City 
  

0.182 
  

0.122 
  

0.182 
  

0.107 
  

0.200 
  

0.060 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

- 
  

0.377 
  

0.040 
  

0.157 
  

0.061 
  

0.260 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

0.280 
  

0.040 
  

0.300 
  

- 
  

0.300 
  

- 
  



East Lothian 
  

0.243 
  

0.049 
  

0.223 
  

0.018 
  

0.300 
  

0.030 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

0.040 
  

0.102 
  

0.040 
  

0.102 
  

0.075 
  

0.060 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

1.200 
  

0.716 
  

1.604 
  

0.874 
  

1.056 
  

0.803 
  



Falkirk 
  

- 
  

0.155 
  

0.031 
  

0.050 
  

- 
  

0.089 
  



Fife 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Glasgow City 
  

2.300 
  
 

2.100 
  

0.430 
  

3.100 
  

0.380 
  



Highland 
  

0.753 
  

0.224 
  

0.860 
  

0.267 
  

1.017 
  

0.253 
  



Inverclyde 
  

- 
  

0.240 
  

- 
  

0.145 
  

- 
  

0.138 
  



Midlothian 
  

0.210 
  

0.086 
  

0.300 
  

0.180 
  

0.200 
  

0.201 
  



Moray 
  

0.183 
  

0.164 
  

0.326 
  

0.159 
  

0.300 
  

0.150 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

0.299 
  

0.128 
  

0.316 
  

0.125 
  

0.450 
  

0.150 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

0.054 
  

0.169 
  

0.007 
  

0.204 
  

0.090 
  

0.200 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

0.030 
  

- 
  

0.035 
  

- 
  

0.035 
  

- 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

0.029 
  

0.035 
  

0.002 
  

0.072 
  

0.142 
  

0.100 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

0.379 
  

0.109 
  

0.031 
  

0.096 
  

0.270 
  

0.100 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

0.105 
  

0.070 
  

0.080 
  

0.083 
  

0.090 
  

0.080 
  



Shetland 
  

- 
  

0.120 
  

- 
  

0.100 
  

- 
  

0.150 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

- 
  

0.256 
  

- 
  

0.290 
  

- 
  

0.300 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

- 
  

0.749 
  

- 
  

0.672 
  

- 
  

0.650 
  



Stirling 
  

0.293 
  

- 
  

0.302 
  

0.183 
  

0.250 
  

0.180 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

- 
  

0.051 
  

- 
  

0.083 
  

- 
  

0.100 
  



West Lothian 
  

0.552 
  

0.185 
  

0.537 
  

0.187 
  

0.550 
  

0.206 
  



Scotland 
  

8.348 
  

4.973 
  

8.589 
  

5.284 
  

9.772 
  

5.395 
  



  Table 2

  Net Revenue Expenditure

  Aids and Adaptations for all community care groups.

  (£000)

  


 


1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  



 


Total Net Expenditure 
  

Total Net Expenditure 
  

Total Net Expenditure 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

0 
  

325 
  

228 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

351 
  

428 
  

308 
  



Angus 
  

227 
  

142 
  

224 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

25 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

170 
  

217 
  

304 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

400 
  

389 
  

454 
  



Dundee City 
  

252 
  

271 
  

297 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

207 
  

143 
  

36 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

352 
  

431 
  

400 
  



East Lothian 
  

436 
  

415 
  

228 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

323 
  

293 
  

292 
  



Edinburgh City 
  

1,138 
  

1,420 
  

1,548 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

67 
  

68 
  

61 
  



Falkirk 
  

466 
  

568 
  

525 
  



Fife 
  

592 
  

1,092 
  

1,470 
  



Glasgow City 
  

1,847 
  

2,529 
  

1,765 
  



Highland 
  

676 
  

416 
  

466 
  



Inverclyde 
  

139 
  

68 
  

166 
  



Midlothian 
  

406 
  

257 
  

166 
  



Moray 
  

167 
  

193 
  

192 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

403 
  

432 
  

258 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

1,936 
  

1,728 
  

2,199 
  



Orkney 
  

95 
  

81 
  

93 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

248 
  

248 
  

254 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

476 
  

530 
  

555 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

312 
  

306 
  

284 
  



Shetland 
  

44 
  

44 
  

0 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

187 
  

223 
  

56 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

1,132 
  

1,346 
  

2,201 
  



Stirling 
  

164 
  

142 
  

194 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

200 
  

190 
  

77 
  



West Lothian 
  

376 
  

294 
  

302 
  



Scotland 
  

13,814 
  

15,229 
  

15,603 
  



  Source: As reported by local authorities on their Local Financial Return for social work (LFR 3).

  Notes:

  1. Excludes loan and leasing charges and revenue contributions to capital.

Local Government

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to extend the powers of local authorities.

Peter Peacock: Yes. We are committed to introducing a power of community initiative for local authorities - a measure designed to facilitate community leadership, partnership working and innovation in Scottish local authorities.

Local Government

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the member development and member training programmes for councillors carried out in Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council can be implemented in Scotland.

Peter Peacock: COSLA are currently considering the development of a training and development programme for councillors in the light of the modernising local government agenda.

Local Government

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities it believes could benefit from implementing the investment in people policy developed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

Peter Peacock: Local authorities, like all other employers, have a responsibility to ensure the highest standards of training and development for their staff and to keep their policies under constant review to ensure success and continuous improvement.

Local Government

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements have been or will be put in place to include those local authorities which are not members of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in future pay bargaining.

Peter Peacock: It is for the Convention and local authorities to consider any arrangements for local authority employers to negotiate on a collective basis with staff about pay levels.

Maternity Services

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what screening tests are offered to pregnant women.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has issued guidance to NHSScotland recommending antenatal screening for syphilis, hepatitis B and Down’s Syndrome and neural tube defects. In addition, the Framework for Maternity Services suggests that screening for foetal abnormality by ultrasound scan should be offered to pregnant women.

  Screening is offered to women in accordance with policies in each NHS Trust area and according to the clinical needs of the women and her choice in the uptake of the services offered.

  Guidelines have also been issued advising health boards that they should consider adopting local policies to encourage voluntary named HIV testing for women attending antenatal clinics in areas with higher prevalence of HIV. These guidelines are currently being revised.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that people with mental health problems receive a consistent standard of care, support and treatment throughout Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health is about setting national standards to be delivered locally. For mental health services the national framework is well established and understood. Implementation is key as is judgment of the quality of the services provided.

  Progress is assessed through the existing and planned performance management arrangements and the visiting programmes of the Scottish Health Advisory Service, the Mental Health and Well Being Support Group whose reports are published routinely, and others including the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland. The aim is to raise and maintain standards across all care groups in all parts of Scotland.

NHS Waiting Lists

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for a tonsillectomy at (a) Vale of Leven Hospital, (b) the Royal Alexandra Hospital, and (c) Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

Susan Deacon: Provisional figures for the year ending 31 December 2000 show that the median waiting times for tonsillectomies at Vale of Leven Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital were 161 days and 56 days respectively. No elective tonsillectomy operations are undertaken at Inverclyde Royal Infirmary.

NHS Waiting Lists

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have been identified as requiring tonsillectomies in the Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospital NHS Trust area and how many are currently waiting for tonsillectomies at each of the Trust’s hospitals.

Susan Deacon: Information on the number of patients waiting for inpatient and day case tonsillectomy treatment is not available centrally. Information on the number of patients waiting for inpatient and day case treatment is collected at specialty level only.

  At 31 December 2000, the numbers waiting for ENT inpatient or day case treatments of all kinds at the Vale of Leven Hospital and at the Royal Alexandra Hospital were 130 and 185 respectively. No elective tonsillectomy operations are undertaken at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

National Archives of Scotland

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) have taken to encourage departments of Her Majesty’s Government to transmit records belonging to Her Majesty and relating exclusively or mainly to Scotland to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland under section 4 of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937 and, in particular, whether any representations have been made regarding the transfer to NAS of the military and pension records of Scottish regiments.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Mr George MacKenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) has received all the documents specified in section 4 of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937. These are Scottish records dating from 1189 to 1284.

  Under section 5(1) of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937 and section 3(8) of the Public Records Act 1958, NAS has in the last 10 years received more than 1,000 shelf metres of records relating to Scotland from UK Government bodies, including the Cabinet Office, Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue, Property Services Agency and the Board of Trade.

  The main operational records of the Scottish regiments consist of official war diaries, sent to the War Office and now available for consultation in the Public Record Office in London. Records up to 1,920 of individual soldiers’ service and pensions are also available in the Public Record Office. Later service records are still in the custody of the Ministry of Defence. The NAS sees no reason to interfere with these arrangements.

Parliamentary Questions

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the answer to question S1W-11942 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 16 March 2001 conforms with clause 1.1(d) of the ministerial code regarding openness.

Henry McLeish: Yes.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, when an answer to a question refers to a previous answer, it will in future also provide the text of that previous answer.

Mr Tom McCabe: No, previous questions can now be accessed easily on the Scottish Parliament website.

Post Office

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or will make, representations to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Postal Services Commission regarding the impact on rural areas in Scotland of any moves towards increasing competition in the provision of postal services, in particular any reduction in the weight limits of packages handled by a universal postal service.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government and the Postal Services Commission on a wide range of issues, including moves to promote liberalisation of postal markets. The Executive fully recognises the importance of the universal availability of postal services in rural areas.

Pre-School Education

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11390 by Nicol Stephen of 10 January 2001, whether it intends to change the current system of funding for pre-school education to enable parents of children born in January and February to choose to defer entry to pre-school and primary education without the local authority losing funding from the Executive.

Nicol Stephen: The consultation with COSLA on the report’s recommendations has just been completed. I will make a full response next month.

Rail Services

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which ScotRail passenger services are regularly overcrowded and what measures are being taken to reduce this overcrowding.

Sarah Boyack: Information from the RPC(S) suggests that the main problems concerning overcrowding during peak periods are on the following routes:

  Ayrshire (i.e. Ayr, Ardrossan & Largs) to Glasgow Central;

  East Kilbride branch to Glasgow Central;

  Edinburgh to and from Bathgate;

  Fife Circle Services;

  Glasgow to and from Lenzie and Bishopbriggs;

  Glasgow to and from Kilmarnock;

  Edinburgh to Glasgow - from Falkirk and Linlithgow;

  Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts;

  Glasgow to and from Holytown.

  The Scottish Executive is currently working in partnership with ScotRail, Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive and the Strategic Rail Authority to address the problem of overcrowding.

Rail Services

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cancellations of passenger services there were on each ScotRail route in each quarter of each of the last two years and what the reasons were for any such cancellations.

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cancellations of passenger services there were on each ScotRail route in each quarter of each of the last two years, expressed as a percentage of the total services provided on each route.

Sarah Boyack: Operational issues such as service cancellations are a matter for ScotRail to address within a stringent performance regime operated by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). The Scottish Executive has no direct locus or powers to intervene. The SRA deposits a copy of its annual report in the Parliament’s Reference Centre. That includes information on train cancellations by each train operating company. The most recent report is for the year 1999-2000.

Scotland House

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the current funding sources for Scotland House in Brussels.

Mr Jack McConnell: Scotland House is an inclusive body that involves a range of interests. Its principal components are the Scottish Executive EU Office (SEEUO) and Scotland Europa, which in turn houses a number of its subscribers. As indicated in the answers to questions S1W-960 and S1W-1437, the SEEUO is entirely funded by the Scottish Executive. As stated in the answer to question S1W-1208, the funding sources for the other residents of Scotland House, are a matter for them, and not for the Scottish Executive - except where these residents are Scottish public bodies. This is referred to in the answer to question S1W-14692.

Scotland House

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to raise the profile of Scotland House in Brussels.

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to raise the profile of Scotland House in Brussels and its activities.

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it will have with Scotland House in Brussels on improving its physical and public profile.

Mr Jack McConnell: Scotland House is an inclusive body that involves a range of interests. Its principal components are the Scottish Executive EU Office (SEEUO) and Scotland Europa, which in turn houses a number of its subscribers.

  As I mentioned in my response to question S1W-4409, Scotland House already has a high profile, as its Scottish residents raise Scotland’s profile in the EU in the course of their daily work. It has done this, for example, through discussions with representatives of the EU institutions, through seminars, through attending meetings of the institutions, and through meetings with the Brussels offices of other EU regions. Scotland Week, in October 1999, which was organised jointly with Scotland Europa, was the initial profile-raising event which had a very large impact. Over 1,000 delegates attended events in Scotland House during the week. Since its opening, at least 10,000 business visitors and seminar delegates have passed through the doors of Scotland House.

  The location itself, at the heart of the Brussels EU district, means that Scotland House is not only prominent but also close to the EU institutions. Examples of the level of Scotland House’s profile amongst these institutions include the fact that the Commission has hired Scotland House’s conference facilities to train its own staff, and that it chose Scotland House as the venue for a major seminar in March on the recent Cohesion Report, to which all Brussels-based regional representations were invited. Several of these regional representations have said that they look upon Scotland House – with its mix of public and private sector residents – as a model for their own offices. Additionally, on 11 December 2000, the then Minister for Environment, Sport and Culture, Sam Galbraith, opened a year-long "Art for Europe" exhibition in Scotland House, which raises the profile of the Scottish creative industries as well as of Scotland House to a much wider Brussels-based audience.

  The residents of Scotland House – the SEEUO included – intend to build on these successes to further promote Scotland’s interests in the EU.

Scotland House

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding Scotland House in Brussels receives annually from (a) the Scottish Executive and (b) other Scottish public bodies.

Mr Jack McConnell: Scotland House is an inclusive body that involves a range of interests. Its principal components are the Scottish Executive EU Office (SEEUO) and Scotland Europa, which in turn houses a number of its subscribers.

  The SEEUO budget for 2000-01 was £500,000, which was funded entirely by the Scottish Executive.

  Scottish Enterprise contributed £455,000 in 2000-01 towards the costs of Scotland Europa, Brussels. A number of other Scottish public bodies, including Highlands and Islands European Partnership and COSLA provided indirect support by means of fees or subventions paid in relation to membership of Scotland Europa or residence in Scotland House. A full list of Scotland Europa members is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contracts for goods and services were agreed between it and private contractors who were (a) based in Scotland and (b) located outside Scotland in each year since 1999.

Angus MacKay: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Executive awards a large number of contracts of varying values over the course of each financial year. Although some significant contracts are handled by specialist central units, the responsibility for much of the Executive’s procurement is devolved to individual business areas. It should be noted that European law prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality or location when awarding public contracts.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contracts for goods and services were agreed between its associated departments and executive agencies and private contractors who were (a) based in Scotland and (b) located outside Scotland in each year since 1999.

Angus MacKay: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Although the Executive, its associated departments and executive agencies work together in respect of some significant common requirements (for example, on the procurement of electricity), the award of contracts is devolved to individual bodies. It should be noted that European law prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality or location when awarding public contracts.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its departmental expenditure limits for this financial year will supplemented by funds from Annually Managed Expenditure.

Angus MacKay: The Scottish Executive’s Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) cannot supplement Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL). The total Scottish Executive budget - Total Managed Expenditure (TME) - comprises DEL, AME plus some non-voted elements e.g. judges salaries and non-domestic rates. The AME budget consists of expenditure items which cannot be reasonably given firm, multi-year limits such as capital charges and pension contributions.

Scottish Executive Staff

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it estimates will be saved through the dispersal of civil service jobs outwith Edinburgh and Glasgow (a) in the first year and (b) over the first three-year period of the dispersal programme.

Angus MacKay: Since announcing the Scottish Executive’s policy on relocation in September 1999, two bodies have been set up outwith Edinburgh or Glasgow. The Public Guardian’s Office has been set up in Falkirk and the Food Standards Agency in Aberdeen.

  The relocation policy includes a presumption against an Edinburgh location for new bodies such as the Public Guardian’s Office and the Food Standards Agency. Detailed analysis therefore concentrated on potential locations outwith Edinburgh.

  For new bodies the main cost difference is likely to relate to property. We estimate that compared with the range of costs for comparable accommodation in Edinburgh, there would have been potential cost savings on property of between £50,000 and £130,000 per annum for the Food Standards Agency and £60,000 to £140,000 per annum for the Public Guardian’s Office.

  Where an existing body is relocated any accommodation savings would need to be set against the staff costs of a move. In these circumstances any net savings related to the particular relocation would take a number of years to accrue.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11800 by Mr Jack McConnell on 5 March 2001, whether it will consider the inclusion of developmental co-ordination disorders, including dyspraxia, in the Special Educational Needs Programme of Action.

Nicol Stephen: The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Programme of Action is intended to address the needs of all children and young people with special educational needs, including developmental co-ordination disorders such as dyspraxia.

  The programme encompasses a broad range of strategic action which includes funding to local authorities for SEN in-service training and development of classroom-based staff and trainee educational psychologists; the Inclusion Programme to assist local authorities to include children with SEN in mainstream schooling; support to voluntary and non-statutory organisations through the Innovation Grants Programme, and a review of therapy services.

Special Educational Needs

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average period is (a) between a child’s parents or school requesting remedial help for the child and an assessment being made by an educational psychologist and (b) from a child being diagnosed as requiring remedial help to actually receiving such help, broken down by local authority.

Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally. Referral to an educational psychologist may be made by the education authority with parental permission but such action will not be appropriate in all cases. Schools may provide learning support either through their own learning support teachers or through a network service without referring a pupil to an educational psychologist.

  National statistics on the average length of time taken to complete a statutory assessment of special educational needs, to determine whether or not a child requires to have a Record of Needs opened, are provided in the Education Services - Performance Indicators 1999-2000 for each local authority. This may be accessed at www.audit-scotland.gov.uk.

Teachers

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many permanently employed teachers there are in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Mr Jack McConnell: The latest information available from the Teacher Census at September 1998, shows there were an estimated 20,398 (FTE) teachers who were permanently employed, out of a total of 22,508 (FTE) teachers employed in publicly funded primary schools. The School Census at September 1999 shows there was a FTE of 22,643 teachers employed in publicly funded primary schools, with a total headcount of 27,621.

  In publicly funded secondary schools at the time of the Teacher Census at September 1998, there were an estimated 22,447 (FTE) teachers who were permanently employed, out of a total of 24,091 (FTE) teachers. The School Census at September 1999 shows there was a FTE of 24,455 teachers employed in publicly funded secondary schools, with a total headcount of 26,119.

  There is no date set for a Teacher Census. However, information from the September 2000 School Census will be published soon.

Teachers

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many male teachers there are in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Mr Jack McConnell: The School Census at September 1999 shows there were 1,553 (FTE) male teachers, out of a total of 22,643 (FTE) teachers in publicly funded primary schools. Out of a total headcount of 27,621 primary teachers there were 1,927 male teachers.

  In publicly funded secondary schools, 11,305 (FTE) teachers were male, out of a total of 24,455 (FTE) teachers. Out of a total headcount of 26,119 secondary teachers, there were 11,641 male teachers.

Tourism

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is being given to the tourism industry in Kintyre.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The Executive’s New Strategy for Scottish Tourism contains many new actions designed to grow tourism throughout Scotland. The strategy actions will be reviewed over the course of the next few months. The Kintyre area will also benefit from the additional £5 million given to VisitScotland as part of the emergency relief package following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Transport

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the National Transport Forum for Scotland and its sub-groups and when the forum or its sub-groups will next meet.

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has allocated funding for future work by the National Transport Forum for Scotland or its sub-groups.

Sarah Boyack: The National Transport Forum was established in the very different circumstances of pre-devolution Scotland. The establishment of the Scottish Parliament has significantly increased the level and quality of debate on transport issues of importance to Scotland. I have therefore decided that the forum as originally conceived is no longer appropriate and that the forum should be wound up. The Scottish Executive will, however, continue to work through the sub-groups originally established by the forum, as well as new bodies such as the disabled persons’ transport advisory group for Scotland in developing and delivering integrated transport policies for Scotland.

Young People

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to co-ordinate different programmes designed to help young people in disadvantaged areas.

Jackie Baillie: The main means of co-ordination is the preparation of Children’s Services Plans, which is a requirement of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The Executive is currently taking forward a review of planning requirements for children’s services in conjunction with representatives from ADES, ADSW, COSLA and the voluntary sector. The Executive has also established an Action Team on Joint Working in Children’s Services. The team is to prepare an Action Plan which will detail how organisations could work together to provide integrated services for children and young people. The Action Plan will be produced in the autumn. In addition, the Changing Children’s Services Fund, launched by the First Minister last November, will further promote better integration of services.

  In Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) local agencies combine to focus resources on the problems faced by young people and other excluded groups in areas of deprivation and exclusion.